Stunted Growth
by AttackInferno
Summary: Link accidentally struck a bad deal with a powerful witch. He can't wield the Master Sword anymore, leaving a very disgruntled companion to save the world for him. Needless to say, she's not happy about it. Upload schedule should be every so often.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi all! If you've heard of me, I'm honoured; having said that, this is only my second fic and not even on the same series. Don't expect me to upload too much, though if I start writing something I'll probably finish it. Eventually. Feel free to review or something, if you want.  
** **Anyway, onto the main event.**

 **Disclaimer: Not much is mine. :/**

* * *

The view from the summit of Death Mountain is fantastic. Unfortunately for the young man and fairy up there, they had just been fighting a giant dragon, and so were much more interested by their wounds than the landscape.

"I had to drink _two_ red potions, Navi! How can we afford any more if we're using them that fast?"

"Listen, if you'd used your hammer more, then maybe you could have killed it _before_ it started breathing fire! It was nearly dead: all you had to do was hit it!" the fairy shot back.

"Well, I didn't see you telling me where it was coming from!" Link flailed his arms around as he tried to make his point. "How am I supposed to hit Volvagia if you don't tell me where he is? And I can't hit him in the air, he was way too fast!"

"You're expecting me to do your job? I'm only a fairy; I can only point out their weaknesses, which, if I might add, I've been doing fairly well up to this point!"

"Up to this point? How about some useful information about the boss? I can deal with Stalfos well enough on my own. That dragon hit me three times before I figured out what to do."

"Just dodge it! It can't be that hard to move around, can it? Hylian or not, you've no reason to be that slow."

"Well excuse me, princess! You're a fairy! Of course you can fly that fast, you weigh nothing!" Link retorted, turning around to face Navi. "And don't try to change the subject. You couldn't do anything in there, not even any of this 'advice' you're so proud of."

With a sigh, Navi realised she'd lost. "Look, I said I was sorry, OK? Just play the Sun's Song, I don't want to go down this mountain at night."

Slightly smugly, Link pulled out his ocarina and blew a few notes. As the Sun came up, both the Hero of Time and his companion noticed a figure approaching. It seemed quite hunchbacked, and slowly looked up from beneath its oversized hood. Before Link could introduce himself, the old woman started speaking with a raspy, tired voice.

"Oh dear, look at you two. Quarrelling like that, you must know each other well. I only came to pick some flowers for my dear husband's grave, and what do I see? Fate has drawn us together, good sir. I may be able to grant your wish, hmm?" Navi caught her gaze, and shivered. "Oh, silly me, I have no manners. I'm a great sorceress, so I could very easily turn your friend here into a real girl. How about that, Mr. Hero? You were just saying that she's dead weight as she is now..."

Link was listening intently, but Navi suddenly spoke up, "Hey! Don't I get a say in this at all? What if I want to be a fairy? You little witch, how come this dolt gets to decide?" By this point, she was buzzing in front of the old woman, yelling as loudly as she could possibly muster, until Link caught her with an empty bottle.

Just before he stoppered it, he whispered, "Navi, be quiet, will you? We're trying to save Hyrule here, can't you be a little less selfish?" Leaving his fairy to utter her swear words of choice, he turned to the hag. "That would be great! Is there something I need to sign, or anything?"

The hooded figure replied, "Of course not; I'm very powerful. I just need your verbal confirmation and I can get started with my rite."

Almost as soon as Link gave the vital 'yes', Navi instantly fell unconscious. Link felt himself being short of breath as well, and dropped to the floor. The last thing he heard was a mocking laugh from the witch.

"Did you think there would be no price, Hero of Time?"


	2. Chapter 2

**The great reveal! What curse could possibly be original? Kudos to you if you guessed it, but I think that it has a lot of potential. As always, review and all that good stuff if you'd like.**

 **Disclaimer: Zelda is not an AttackInferno brand.**

* * *

Navi was the first to awaken. Her back was fairly sore from the rough Death Mountain soil, but she was otherwise unharmed.

That is, until she tried to fly to a comfortable height. No friendly wings spread from her back, and the world seemed much smaller than it had been the day before. Foggy memories of the Hero's idiocy the day before surfaced, and slowly the ex-fairy realised she was now a Hylian.

"Link! Link! What in Nayru's name did you do? This body's horrible! It's way too slow and bulky! What did you do with my wings?.. Where are you? Link?"

Though her tone started with fury, it faltered when Navi couldn't see Link anywhere around her. Looking closely, his Goron Tunic was lying haphazardly on the floor, with his holy blade and shards of broken glass nearby as well. There was a faint buzzing from within the tunic, but otherwise no sound could be heard.

* * *

Link stood up, a little unsteady. He couldn't see. Some kind of cloth was covering him, so he scrambled to get out from under it. As he finally burst out, three things were immediately apparent: he was still on Death Mountain, it was far too sunny, and a giant was looking at him with a terrifying expression on her face. Link knew that if he didn't say something quickly, he was in a very real danger of being crushed.

"Umm... at least we're not both fairies, right?" said Link, nervously. "I'm sure there's a way to fix this. It could be worse." Wrong answer. Navi picked up the helpless fairy and held him right in front of her face.

"It's not that bad? Link, have you thought at all!? What if we can't break this curse? At best, we'll have to hide forever, since _literally no-one else_ can wield the Master Sword, or we'll be killed by Ganondorf when he learns what happened to us! You've just doomed the whole of Hyrule by your rashness. You'd better come up with a solution, quick, or I'll just kill you myself!"

As her grip tightened, Link yelped out the first thing that came to mind: "The fairy fountain! The great fairy can help, I'm sure of it. I was planning on going there to heal, before this happened. Yes, I get that making a deal was a bad move, but we've got fate on our side! It'll be fine."

"..."

"Oh, and wear my tunic, please. It's one thing to be dressed like that as a fairy, but people will get the wrong idea if you're practically wearing lingerie in town," he added.

"Only if you apologise properly," Navi responded. "You never take responsibility for what you do, Link; how can I trust you?"

The boy-turned fairy scratched his head. "O great and wise Navi, I sincerely apologise for my acts of yesterday, which kinda screwed both of us over. Is that what you were looking for?"

"It'll do, I guess," the Hylian said, crouching down to pick up some clothes. The Goron Tunic was a bit scratchy, but it was a much better alternative to burning up on Death Mountain. Most of the gear was stored in hammerspace, so the only thing left was the Blade of Evil's Bane. Navi struggled picking it up, but it slotted into its scabbard easily enough.

* * *

Matilda, the Great Fairy, stared at the two companions for a while before speaking. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to help, darlings," she said at last. "Your spell was cast by a very powerful foe. There are very few that could measure up to such power. Regardless, your sword likes you, young lady. There are always things to be done, after all. I'm sure you'll figure it out on your own."

With a flourish, she dipped below the fountain's waters, and vanished. Link and Navi turned to each other with blank faces.

"Well then, that was certainly a thing..."

* * *

 **Sorry about those of you wanting a steamy fountain scene, but honestly, I didn't want to have too much more speech in there as well. There's already enough dialogue with nothing happening. I'm sure that as soon as our protagonists settle down a little, I'll be able to balance out speaking with description/action. Until then, who knows?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Props to imnotraven16 and Nintelda for reviewing and following, and wholockedlife and apples in the rain for following! I'm really grateful, guys! Navi's not quite as composed as Link is when she's in the spotlight, I feel. They're both going to have to get used to this situation pretty quickly, though.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not pretend to know how to wield swords, or own Zelda.**

* * *

Kakariko Village was not far off when the Hylian and fairy were set upon by another problem: a Wolfos, to be precise. Link immediately reached for his sword, his hand gripping thin air while Navi stared at it in shock. It raised its back and started circling around the two until Link shouted at his partner to grab her sword, _now,_ if she didn't want to be dog food.

"B-b-but Link, I can't fight! I've never even held a knife before, never mind something t-this big and sharp! I can't even remember its weakness anymore." Navi's voice was almost trembling as much as her body.

"Wolfos are easy, just keep the Master Sword between it and you," said Link, before adding, "and keep your eyes open. This is basic stuff, Navi, weren't you watching when I dropped five of them?"

"I didn't expect you to turn into a fairy! This is still all your fault, Hero! Just tell me how to kill it, it's in the way!"

Suddenly the Wolfos joined the conversation with a loud howl. The ex-fairy jumped and gripped her blade even tighter than before, but Link knew what this meant. He also knew that if they didn't book it into the village very soon, there would be no hope. He flew towards the monster, keeping track of its movements.

"Navi!" he yelled. "He's calling his pack, we need to get out of here, stat! Run him through or we'll be sitting ducks!.. He's preparing to jump! Ready the Master Sword, and get ready to crouch down as well! We'll only have one chance to do this, OK?"

The nervous girl nodded. Her stance was a bit poor, to be honest, and she didn't have a shield out to make this move easier, but there was no time to correct that. The Wolfos leaped – " _Stab up!_ " – and was clunkily impaled on the sword, as Navi lay in the dirt, having fallen onto her back. Blood mingled with Navi's tunic as its corpse slid down the blade, pinning her until she was able to deflect it off to her side. Feeling slightly dizzy, Navi could only just hear Link tell her to run to the gates of the village before any more turned up.

* * *

Flying is much easier than running, and _he_ didn't have to fight a monster out of the blue, so the tiny Hero of Time wasn't particularly tired once inside the village. This allowed him to think of the team's next plan of action. The first problem to be addressed was the location of the inn, but while Navi showed promise with Link's holy sword, her freezing up in battle needed to be solved before they could leave the village.

On the other hand, Navi was still out of breath from running on her new legs. She was starting to understand why Link didn't talk much during battle. She was hunched over, supporting her arms with her knees, letting her stress out from the fight. Fatigued as she was, even Navi realised that this was going to be a normal occurrence until they found the old hag again. The thought did not exactly thrill her.

* * *

It was still before dawn before Link and Navi woke up. This routine felt normal, at least. Link had insisted that he train the soon-to-be swordswoman at least four times a day, but assured his protégée that she would find it easier to train as time went on. Posture was the most important thing to begin with. As it turned out, Link became his most serious when swordplay was concerned.

"Right, so I'll teach you the four stances, and you need to practice them as much as possible. It's too dangerous in Hyrule Field for us to go out until you've at least mastered these, so we'll probably have to stay here for at least a week," said the Hero when they were both up and dressed. Navi had chosen to don the more versatile and comfortable Kokiri Tunic, her short brown hair reaching down her back to just past the collar. Link himself had managed to find some ragged fairy clothes, but wasn't bothered by their quality, as long as he didn't have to wear nothing but a loincloth. _That_ had raised the eyes of the innkeeper when he booked a room.

"We can't do that, Link. You know as well as I do that Ganondorf has eyes everywhere, and if we don't keep moving, he'll send monsters to hunt us down. Kakariko doesn't deserve this. We can train today, but we're leaving tomorrow." The balance of size now favoured Navi, and while Link wasn't convinced, he couldn't exactly stop her.

He prayed to Din not to have any encounters out in the Field.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi to my real life friend who I accidentally gave way too many details to... You'd better review, ya hear? Anyone else, feel free to review if you want, but I won't force you. Thanks to Peacemaren, who just followed, as well. Somehow each chapter seems to be getting longer, or is it just an illusion?**

 **Hammerspace, inventory, same thing. Whatever.**

 **Disclaimer: I would like to own Zelda, but I don't.**

* * *

Earlier that morning, somebody had infiltrated Link and Navi's room. The trespasser seemed content with leaving a note, however. It read:

 _Link,  
_ _Meet me at Zora's Domain today. Don't be late. There's an item waiting for you.  
_ _S_

Needless to say, the recipients both immediately knew who wrote it. The trip to Zora's River was relatively short, so it was still early morning. The canyon's walls stretched high above the path. Navi still jumped at any sign of movement, and with her holding the Hylian Shield in front of her face, any movement slowed to a halt whenever an Octorok jumped out of the water. It took a lot of coaxing from Link to make the girl try to dodge the rocks and run past the monster instead of hiding until it went away. After all, Shiek was expecting them, and there was a lot more ground to cover. It was already way past noon. The Hero also had a much more personal reason to see the harpist, as he might know of a way to restore Link's body.

"Navi, hurry up. Look, it doesn't even matter if you get hit, these guys are pretty weak."

"The last time I listened to you," the Hylian replied, "I almost got eaten. I'm not making that mistake again. Anyway, weren't you supposed to be thinking how to retrieve the Ocarina of Time? We need it to get through the waterfall, or had you forgotten?"

Navi's sarcastic comment referred to something of an embarrassment for Link. His inventory was almost bare, having given most of his gear to Navi. Most of the stuff was far too big for him any more. The one item he couldn't find was his ocarina, and while Saria's one was nice, it couldn't activate the magic doors and glyphs around Hyrule.

Not that it mattered, because the waterfall entrance to Zora's Domain was parted when the duo arrived. Inside the cave was a strikingly different scene from their last visit, however; where there had been streams of spring water, now dull, grey ice covered every surface. Dark shapes lay trapped within it, silhouettes of Zoras reaching up to the frigid air.

"Hey, Link, are those what I think they are?" Navi asked, feeling a slight chill.

"Yeah, probably."

"We should keep moving."

Link took another look around, before nodding. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

The tension in the mass grave melted away a little once they reached Jabu-Jabu's lake, but the fish deity was nowhere to be seen. The last of his power must have been used to protect the water, as it was not completely frozen over. A cave had also opened up on the other side. Sheik was nowhere to be seen, so Navi hopped over the ice floes, with Link rolling his eyes every time she slipped.

* * *

There were many enemies in the Ice Cavern, but once Navi learnt how to deal with Ice Keese and evade the statues' freezing wind, she grew much more confident in battle. Finally, there was only one room left, according to the map.

"What do you reckon is in there? An ice boss? Do you know about any of those?"

Navi paused. "Not really," she said, at length. "At least, nothing that strong would live in a cave like this. From what I remember, the strongest monsters stay outside on the mountaintops."

"That's fine, then," said Link. "Even if there's anything in there, it's a good opportunity to hone your skills. You need to keep your feet in line more, and don't forget to use your shield."

When the girl was ready, she stepped through the doorway. Once she and her fairy were both through, iron bars shot downwards, locking them in the room. That could mean only one thing, and Navi whipped her head forward to see what she needed to fight.

The boss room was full of mirrors, reflecting the few points of light into infinity. A few bright crystals were standing around the edges, but it was the demon growling in the middle of the room that captured the swordswoman's attention. She stood in shock, dropping her sword, as the White Wolfos advanced. It slowly reared onto its hind legs, waiting for a chance to strike. The fairy flew close to the wolf's head, hoping to distract it long enough to get Navi back on track. It didn't even falter, and swiped from the right. The Hylian Shield blocked the attack just in time, knocking the huge claws away. Navi stumbled back from the force of the impact, accidentally dodging the second claw strike from the other side.

The Wolfos tensed its legs. It was about to leap, to rip out the throat out of the fool that dared invade its lair, when it felt something on its tail. Link yanked on it as hard as he could.

"Pick up the Master Sword, Navi! Just kill it! I don't have much time here!" Link barely avoided another bite, zipping about as quickly as he could. Getting eaten was not on his priority list.

Navi steeled herself for a moment. Her sword was a little into the snow, but it was closer to the wolf than to her. She took a step towards it, her hand flexing. As quickly as she could, she snatched at the hilt. She took a quick breath, and jumped forward, slashing the beast down its back. It howled out a death cry and slumped the ground. The snow around soaked up the Wolfos blood, tingeing it with a deep red as both remaining combatants dropped as well, exhausted from the battle.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to KurosakiSage for following! As always, all feedback is appreciated. Just like in the real Ocarina of Time, Sheik feels like a little bit of an exposition machine. That's not actually a good thing, though. Also, I fear that Navi's wolf trauma might become a defining feature...  
** **Sorry if it's a bit shorter than usual, but my buffer ran out but I still wanted to release this this morning.**

 **Disclaimer: What's friendship without a bit of sadism?**

* * *

It turned out there was a chest in the Wolfos' room. It was covered in ice, and somewhat lodged into the snow in the corner, but once Navi broke the lock (with her sword), she found a heavy pair of iron boots. They were somewhat uncomfortable, and made a series of clunks with every step. Still, they could be useful as a ranged weapon, the Hylian reasoned. Chucking them at Link would be a great way to vent her tension later.

However, turning around after examining the boots, the Hero of Time came face to face with a pair of dull red eyes. Sheik sighed at him.

"Why are you a fairy?" the sheikah asked. Link hovered nervously, but didn't speak. "No matter, then. I can already tell. Navi, you'll have to do it yourself. As you can see, most of the Zoras are trapped beneath the ice. I trust you have some Blue Fire? Good, then thaw out King Zora. You'll need his Zora Tunic to reach the Water Temple."

Navi was slightly overcome with all the new information that came flying at her. "Wait, what? You're not surprised about the curse? Can you fix it?"

"...No. This curse has set us back, but no more than I calculated when I originally assessed Link's character. That something like this has happened was well within my expectations. However, I apologise for getting your hopes up. I haven't the strength to remove this curse. It looks as if you'll be strong enough to cover for our Hero's blunder, though," said Sheik.

The aforementioned Hero looked back to his companion, who was still trying to take in Sheik's words. She didn't rise to defend him at all. Desperate to change the subject, Link asked, "Where is the Water Temple? I've never heard of it. Did the Zoras guard it?"

"It's sunk into Lake Hylia... But with the source frozen, it has surfaced. Be careful. I can sense Ganondorf's dark arts at play there... Let me teach you a new song. Listen to the Serenade of Water to reflect upon yourself..." Sheik held his arm out, offering Link a miniatue Ocarina of Time, before starting to sing in Old Hylian.

 _Time passes, people move... Like a river's flow, it never ends... A childish mind will turn to noble ambition... Young love will become deep affection... The clear water's surface reflects growth..._

Link put the instrument to his mouth. It was cold, but it held its tone well. Soon he was in harmony with Sheik's harp and voice, feeling the power of the teleportation song. A force started to tug at him from beyond Hyrule, so he stopped playing. After all, the king still had to be thawed out.

* * *

Lake Hylia wasn't quite empty. There was a small pool right underneath the island Link had warped himself and Navi to, a pool that lead to quite a bit of debate.

"Just jump! It looks fine! I'll go with you, if you want," the Hero of Time bargained.

"Listen, you can fly; I can't! What happens if I miss?" shouted back the Hylian girl.

"You won't miss, there's a ton of room there. Look, the Water Temple's down there, and the only other way around is half a mile along. Between you and me, I reckon those bridges'll break anyway, and there _won'_ _t_ be any water to land in over there."

The two bickered back and forth on the Triforce symbol for a while, until Navi gave up. She took a running start, leaped gracefully into the air, and seemed to be right on target with the pool.

"Navi, you might want to land feet-" Link yelled after her, just a little too late, "-first."

He winced at all the expletives his companion hurled at him as he floated down. Although her Hylian Shield had taken most of the force of the backflop, it still hurt Navi like hell.

"This is what I get for trusting you, idiot! By Farore, why didn't you tell me that sooner? I'm going to tie you to my shield for that!" she kept up the insults until she physically ran out of breath. The ex-fairy sighed. This move _was_ classic Link, after all. "Let's just go."

"I'd love to, but I can't breathe underwater. Looks like you'll have to go alone, just like you were saying. Oh well, guess I'll just be hovering about here." Link leaned back in the air, watching his friend try to make a retort.

"Not if I've got this, Hero," she said, pulling out an empty bottle. In the end, they didn't have enough money between them to buy another red potion after the events on Death Mountain. Navi grabbed the fairy before he could fly away and stuffed him in the bottle. She had one more thought before she leapt back into the remaining Lake Hylia water, and a grin broke out onto her face.

 _There are no wolves underwater._


	6. Chapter 6

**Afternoon, all! First of all, I'd like to say that I might not update for the next couple of days, since it's almost the end of term and my work is piling up. After Friday, I should be able to churn out a fair few chapters, but we'll see. Thanks to James Birdsong for his review, as well.**

 **Disclaimer: This cliffhanger is not intentional.**

* * *

The water temple was wet, but not totally flooded. Once Link got used to flying up and down the temple to change the water level, though, his partner had a much easier time of navigating the spikes and enemies. However, there was one room that neither of them dared enter. There seemed to be a white haze around the door, on top of a strong feeling of magic.

Of course, Navi grabbed the fairy next to her and chucked him in, to "scout it out". It was empty. The mist stretched on further than should have been possible, wrapping around a dead tree in the centre of the room. On the far side, a small shrine was set up. Link called Navi through, seeing no immediate danger.

She stepped into the magic-infused water. It was warm and her reflection distorted with every step the Hylian took. By the time Navi had reached the island in the middle, the ripples in the water tilted ominously. Link was almost sick from the heavy magic in the air and his new constitution, but otherwise nothing happened. The shrine was locked.

"Some hero you are, Link," spoke a figure, leaning against the dead tree in the centre of the room. He was the spitting image of the Hero, except his body was dark and shadowy and his eyes were a mocking red. "You can't even keep your form. And you're hiding behind a little girl! That's fantastic. I don't get why the Dark Lord wanted me to kill you, but looks like it'll barely even be a fight!"

Link was, understandably, pissed. He motioned for Navi to draw her sword.

Dark Link pushed himself off of the tree, slowly walking towards the duo. He had his weapon in hand, but was swinging it back and forth, clearly not in an offensive pose.

"Whoa, calm down girlie, I'm just here to talk. No need to get antsy! I've got a proposition for you, after all...you want to hear it?" the shade asked.

"Listen, you swine, I am not coming anywhere near you." Navi pointed the Master Sword threateningly towards him. "Why the hell do you think I'd be interested in anything you'd have to say?"

Dark Link shrugged, then continued talking like the girl had never said anything. "This deal's great, you'll love it. Live with me, in a forest or something, and we'll forget about this whole quest thing. I'll even let you keep that little shrimp alive. If you refuse, I'll have to kill you. Sorry, but I'm not exactly the top dog. It's your choice."

Link chose this moment to speak up. "No," he said, "because me and Navi aren't just here for ourselves. We're here on behalf of the Zoras and Sheik, and I can't let them down!"

He pulled out his sword and stood ready for battle... until Link remembered he was still a fairy. He turned to Navi, who was standing in the same pose as him, but far less steadily.

"Link, I don't think I can win against him! If your shadow is half as good as you are, we're both dead meat," Navi reasoned, before raising her voice to the Hero's shade. "Hey, you, if I give up, do you promise you won't kill Link?"

"Booooring! After all that, you're coming quietly? This is no fun. Tell you what, girlie, let's have a fight. When I win, then you give up properly, y'know, crying and all that."

"And if I win? What then, you monster?"

"If you win, then I let you leave. No hard feelings. _Now fight me!"_ Dark instantly leaped forward, clashing hard against the Blade of Evil's Bane. The battle started off intense, but Navi recognised Link's fighting style within the melee.

She started using some weaknesses he had, like overreaching his blade for a chance at a finisher, and the battle evened out. This didn't last long. Dark Link was by far better with a sword, and the shadows coming off his warped Master Sword made his movements much less obvious.

Link couldn't do anything but watch the sparks from steel on steel. Dark Link was pushing his advantage hard, and Navi was having trouble matching up to the speed of her opponent's strikes. She had only taken grazing hits, making Link realise that his shadow was playing around. The shorter girl had only been wielding her weapon for a week, and her openings were painfully obvious to the other two on the foggy plain, as were her attempts to lead Dark to the withered tree.

Eventually, her efforts were successful, probably, judging from the shadow's smirk, because he let her. "What are you going to do now, girlie?" he taunted. "Got some plan for this?"

Dark Link rushed around the tree, and struck at Navi's undefended left side. She struggled to pull her sword around, but it got caught in a branch for a second too long, and the phantom gashed a long cut that twisted around her body.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to LividChicken for his review, he's the guy I was talking about earlier. By the way, as I'm sure he's found out, reviewing makes both you and me feel warm inside, so make sure you try it! Go on, treat yourself!** **If you're wondering how Navi can win, let me say that she has the most powerful weapon in Zelda. Courage!.. not quite.**

 **Disclaimer: I forgot that Ruto was supposed to be in this dungeon somewhere. Oh well.**

* * *

Navi jerked back when she felt Dark Link's steel on her flesh; this meant that, though long, the cut wasn't deep. The shade's lips were broken apart in a wicked grin.

"That was too easy! Are you even trying?" Dark laughed. Navi's eyes darted down to her wound before fixing him with a fiery glare. "Oh," he cackled, "I'm sorry, little girl. Did that hurt you? How sad!"

"Don't think I'll let you get away with this, you monster! I'm going to rip you limb from limb myself!" snarled the Hylian girl. She took a steadying breath, before going on the offensive. Her fury almost made up for the skill difference between the two, but not quite. Dark no longer held control over the battle, only able to parry each of Navi's blows as they came, but she was tiring quickly. The adrenaline pumping through her veins was slowing down. With it came her short-lived advantage. Dark had been conserving his energy for this moment. When Navi began panting heavily, he suddenly dodged to the side, and swung his sword to meet the flat of hers. The force flung the Master Sword out of the girl's hand, sinking into the water across the room.

Dark Link raised his weapon to Navi's face. "Looks like _I_ win. You stay put, darling, or I'll cut you some more," he said. He dropped his guard, walking over to the holy blade. Navi didn't have a chance to reach it first, as splashing around would have alerted Dark. The inverted Hero picked it up with his spare hand, before turning back to his prey. He barely had enough time to register the first lump of metal flying into his stomach before the second iron boot collided with his face. A crack echoed around the room as some of the phantom's bones broke.

"Navi! Are you alright? You were on the receiving end of some harsh hits. I don't even think I could have kept up with that guy!" Link flew franticly about his companion, looking for wounds. "How bad is that cut?"

"It's fine. I can manage until we get out of here, at least. But what about him?" Navi said, gesturing to her foe. "I'm sure I heard something breaking."

"Don't worry; he's made of magic. He's still breathing, so either we kill him now, or he heals back up in a day."

"No! Link, I don't care how twisted your shadow is, he's still a person," Navi objected, "and I'm not ready to become a murderer!" She walked over to his unconscious form, and retrieved both the Master Sword and its inversion. The shadowy one went straight into the inventory, but the girl kept her own sword out in case Dark Link woke up.

The Hero of Time sighed. "Fine, we'll spare him. That door opened, by the way, but I'm too weak to open the chest." He pointed at the shrine a few meters away. Inside was a longshot, half-hidden by piles of dust. Its chain was slightly rusted, but once it was shot a few times it worked just as well as Link's original hookshot, with a lot of extra range.

* * *

In comparison to their previous fight, Link and Navi had no trouble dispatching the real boss of the temple. Morpha was slow and its attacks lacked impact. Tentacles that should have hit like a tidal wave were either dodged or simply fizzled out. Some attacks connected, though. These were the ones when Navi slipped up on the wet floor, but they were hardly felt. She was grateful when it finally disintegrated, if only because she could finally rest for a few days.

* * *

"I would have expected no less from the man I chose to be my husband, but who are you? What have you done with my Hero?!" The Zora princess got more and more agitated as she looked at the Hylian in front of her.

"I'm, uhh," said Navi, in a slightly unsure tone, "his friend. Link's off doing, um, hero stuff. He's in another dungeon! He asked me to deliver the medallion to him, so if you wouldn't mind..."

Ruto stomped on her pedestal. "But I wanted to declare my eternal love to him! The next time I see him, I'm never letting him out of my sight!" she pouted. "Well, I'm the Sage of Water now, so I guess I have to guard the Water Temple anyway... Here! Just take my Medallion! It's not like I need it!"

As Navi took the Medallion, she felt the blue light start to pull her out of the Sacred Realm. Once back in Hyrule, Link squirmed out of his companion's hat.

"Ruto's crazy, you know! I can't believe she still remembers that engagement from seven years ago! For once, I'm glad we swapped forms. Thanks for not selling me out, Navi!" Link exclaimed, darting around at eye level.

"Well, I'm not!" the ex-fairy retorted. "Your shadow almost killed me! I swear, you better find a way to rid us of this curse before I fight him again, or you're done for, _friend,_ " she spat. "Honestly, _I'm_ not blessed with a piece of the Triforce. I'm a plain Hylian! Why do I have to fill in for you all the time?"

Link burst out laughing. "You know, you're pretty cute when you're angry. Anyway, it's fine, right This curse is strong, so there are only a few people who could have made it, yeah? It's better than finding one in a million."

"No it's not! That just means that nobody can cure it!" Navi swatted Link away with her free hand. "Listen, just teach me how to fight better. Dark was scarily better than me."

Bickering as always, the two started the walk to the nearest village. The temple had taken hours to complete, and though most time was spent waiting for the water level to rise or fall, they both just wanted a plate of hot food.


	8. Chapter 8

**I've been playing way too much Phantom Hourglass. I finished it though, and let me tell you, the end is so worth it. As always, please review. I'll even give you an internet-based baked foodstuff ^.^**

 **Disclaimer: Yes, Horon Village is from the Oracles games. Deal with it.**

Horon Village was small, but quaint, little more than a hamlet. It boasted a single tavern for the few visitors that stopped by every year. Like most nights, it was close to empty. One local man, intent on pouring his heart out to the barkeep, was sitting at the bar. It seemed his wife had been giving him stick about their daughter. Navi was sitting at a table in the corner, nursing her own drink (milk; she hadn't mangaged to convince the barkeep she was 18). On the table laid Sheik's newest note. It didn't say much, just that Lake Hylia was filling back up and the Zora's Domain had started to defrost.

Link was lying about lazily, occasionally sneaking bits and pieces of food from Navi's plate. Apart from Kakariko and the capital, there were very few towns large enough to support a barracks. Of course, they were disused under Ganondorf's reign. They were perfect for training. On the contrary, surrounding the motley collection of thatched houses and barns of Horon were nothing but miles of fields. Castle Town was far too dangerous to stay at for any prolonged period of time, so the next morning the Hylian and fairy set out over Hyrule Field.

* * *

The trip to Karariko took three days, but the only noteworthy event was an encounter with a scouting group of Moblins. Navi backslashed one before she was noticed, and quickly disarmed and incapacitated the second, but the last fled before she even raised her sword at it.

Link decided to teach Navi his ultimate attack. She had been training again for a few days, and had even reached the Hero's lofty expectations. Her stamina was also inching up, day by day, so prolonged fights no longer left her out of breath and open to attacks. However, she was by no means ready for a rematch with Dark Link. He was a demon, and remembering him fight just served to reinforce the strength Link's student had yet to achieve.

"Hey Link, can we start yet? You haven't said anything in a while," Navi said, dragging him out of his reverie.

"Yeah, of course, sure. Angle your sword out behind you, like that. Good." Link flitted around, looking for the best angle to teach the Spin Attack. "Now you need to focus on spreading magic down the blade. You should feel when it reaches the tip."

Navi nodded. "I can feel it."

"Fantastic. You'll need to lean away from the Master Sword, and pull it around to you. If you can do that, you've pretty much got it. It's much more powerful than a regular slash, and has much larger range," the Hero said. He perched on a training dummy just in time to see Navi fall sideways. "Keep it up. It's hard to learn, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it eventually."

By the end of the day, the girl had managed to perform the full Spin Attack a few times, but each successful attempt was followed by half a dozen failures. Link had mangaged to work out why it was so hit-and-miss, but wanted to see if Navi realised it herself. As night drew in, he gave up on waiting.

"You can spin in circles all you like, Navi, but that won't help you," Navi's fairy observed. "Your magic's all over the place. Focus it, and more importantly, _keep it even_. You're obviously not used to keeping calm in battle."

* * *

A trial by fire had seemed like a good idea in the early morning, but after half a day of wandering around Hyrule Field with no enemies in sight, the novelty was wearing off. Even worse, the rain had started around midday. Navi was soaked through, the ground sank a few centimetres every step, and Link had even taken refuge in a mostly empty bottle.

That was, broadly speaking, the state of mind for the two of them as they returned to a burning Kakariko Village. There was a horde of Moblin and Stalfos bodies littering the high street. At the well, covered in blood and slightly out of breath, stood Sheik. He was holding his hands out in front of him, pointing them at the well. None of the townsfolk could be seen.

"Stay back! This is not something you can deal with!" the Sheikah yelled once he noticed the girl coming up to him. A moment later, he was sent flying into the air, tossed around and finally sent into a nearby building. Navi rushed up to him, checking for any wounds.

A shadow emerged from the well. It ran along the floor, circling the town, before heading straight at the pair on the floor. Sheik raised his hand slightly, trying to use what little magic he had left, but the shadow did not slow down at all.

Navi felt nauseous as she experienced what the warrior had gone through moments before. The only difference was that her conciousness faded.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks to femikol for following! Night Watcher 7, thank you very much for your review! Honestly, I agree with you on the pacing. In my first draft of this chapter, the first 200 or so words were pure Sheik-style exposition, so I deleted all of it. I'm going to try to stop rushing forwards so much. A step back really let me enrich this story a lot, so thank you very much! By the way, here's that cookie: (.:)  
Reviewing's fun. Trust me. Go on, I dare you.**

 **Don't mess with Bongo-Bongo. Or the windmill man.**

* * *

Navi's whole body ached. She was lying on a stone floor, and one of the flagstones was poking at an awkward angle into her back. She opened her eyes. A derelict forge greeted her. Through the holes in the roof she could just see a pinkish sky. It seemed it was about dawn. Residual drops of water from the storm the day earlier was leaking in, plinking into the few puddles about the room. The Hylian sat up, but her knee forced her down every time she tried to stand.

Sheik looked over at the commotion. He was perched on a three-legged stool, and seemed to be figuring out some tune on his harp.

"...You're awake. Good." He walked over, pulling out a red potion. "Here. This should help." Navi took the bottle and drank half of the contents. The ripped flesh on her legs started to patch up, but stayed where she was for the moment.

"Sheik," she asked, "what was that thing earlier?"

"That was the evil shadow spirit. It was sealed in the well, but in these dark times its power grew... I didn't want to ask you to destroy it, but I've got no leads on how to cure Link right now... I'm sorry, Navi. This monster may be too much for you."

Navi smirked, trying to hide her nervousness. "Don't worry! I've mastered the Spin Attack," she boasted, inwardly thinking _almost_ , "so I'm sure I can handle it. After all, I even beat Link's double."

The sheikah raised his eyebrows. "Well, then. You've certainly -"

A sudden noise interrupted the conversation. Sheik instantly grabbed a Deku Nut, ready for a quick escape. He looked around a little, and dropped his guard. Link was floating in the air. He was swaying unsteadily, almost as if drunk, but that wasn't the first thing his companion noticed. The fairy's usual white glow was much darker, with tones of midnight blues and deep purples swirling about him.

Sheik put his hand to Navi's mouth before she could say anything. "I know you have questions, but Link will be fine. The Triforce of Courage will protect him. He's been hit hard with shadow magic, but he should get it out of his system soon."

"What are you on about, Sheik? I feel great!" exclaimed Link, lurching almost down to the floor as he spoke. "Anyway, tell me about the next evil monster! I'm _so_ ready to murder it!"

Sheik sighed, watching Link giggle about death. He said, curtly, "Tell Navi to fill you in. Honestly, how is he the Hero of Time?.. You've never heard of transfusing Triforce pieces, have you?"

Navi shook her head.

"Neither have I. I suppose we're stuck with him... Fine. Navi, there's a sheikah artefact at the bottom of the well, but we can't reach it in this time. The spirit sealed it up. You'll have to return seven years into the past, I'm afraid." He turned to the Hero. "As for you, I would teach you a new melody, but it's definitely a bad idea in that state. I'll find you both when you return."

linebeck

It turned out the forge was inside the barracks bordering Hyrule Field. Out in the hallway were rusty spears and shields, destined to a life on a rotting weapons rack. This area was familiar to Link and Navi: it was the corridor they used to reach the training grounds for sword practice.

The first order of the day was to gather supplies. Potion supplies were running dangerously low, as always, and the Bomb Bag was fairly empty as well. The vendors in the marketplace begin their day early, to cater to the population of farmers, so it was easy to secure most of the necessary supplies. However, the Apothecary was much more selective about its opening times; Navi had to wait another hour before it would open, so she took the opportunity to learn as much as possible about the well as she could. For better or for worse, Link was flying free, having personally taken it upon himself to interrogate every person he could find. It was all Navi could do to catch up to the hyper fairy. Soon, they were pointed towards the windmill. Apparently it drew the water up from the well. The owner seemed to be especially surprised by Link.

"What?!" he screamed. "You've got an Ocarina! What the heck! That reminds me of that time! Back then a mean kid played this strange song! It messed up my windmill! I'll never forget it! Whooaaaaaa!" The ageing man roared into the sky, tensing up his whole body. A few people turned to look at the spectacle. The Hero of Time laughed. "Hey, old man, can you teach me that song? It sounds fun!"

"Listen here, little fairy," said the windmill man, suddenly serious. "Promise me, if I teach it to you, you'll find that kid and beat him up, yeah? If you ever hear anyone else play this tune, you go mess with 'em."

"Sure can do, old man!"

Navi caught up just after the Hero learnt the Song of Storms. She'd returned to the shopping district to buy the potions, but Link had disappeared. At some point she'd heard shouting and decided to check it out. Unfortunately for the Hylian girl, the windmill man recognised her.

"Hey! You there! You're that punk that screwed up my windmill seven years ago! You're gonna pay for what you did that day!" yelled the old man once he'd seen her. He charged at her, his phonograph making creaking sounds with every step. After a few feet, he stopped to catch his breath. "Little fairy! It's your turn! I'm all out of steam!"

Link flew up to Navi. "This guy's funny! He taught me a new song. Do you want to hear it?"

Navi took a deep breath and attempted not to stab either of them. "No, Link. Could you possibly play the Prelude of Light? Please? We need to reach the Temple of Time."

"Okey-dokey!" Link put the Ocarina to his lips with a huge grin.


	10. Chapter 10

**So I just wanted to say happy birthday to my friend, who may or may not read this. Also, Easter happened... That means many, many, small people running around. I can't believe "life" keeps getting in the way of my writing. Also, thanks to david davidson for following!**

 **Disclaimer: Linebeck is the greatest character ever, but the windmill dude is second.**

Navi slotted in the Master Sword to the pristine pedestal. It looked like it was the only thing left in the temple that hadn't succumbed to Ganon's influence. As soon as it was in place, her body shook, and the girl was suddenly pinned to the ground. The fairy dropped to the ground next to her as well. Link's wings fluttered pathetically for a few moments, then froze in place. Around them Navi could hear whispers chattering all around the temple. Sometimes she could almost make out words, but they were distorted and were certainly not Hylian.

It was hard to say how long the limbo had lasted, but eventually the pressure faded. The Temple of Time was suddenly much brighter than it was before. Light streamed in from windows that had collapsed in the future, and shattered stained glass once again shone its iridescent tones around the room.

It turns out that travelling seven years back in time actually makes people very hungry. That's why the first thing Navi did upon leaving the temple was to find food. Of course, in the time of prosperity, bread was cheap, just as hiring a ride to Kakariko was. The merchant took a few hours to reach the trading town, occasionally telling Navi tales of his trades. Some wolf god had travelled with him in the past and made him very prosperous, he had said. Link was asleep in a bottle somewhere. He had been in that state since the time warp, but it wasn't any particular concern to his friend. He had, after all, been hyper since he'd been given a dose of shadow magic, and now he was much easier to ignore.

* * *

Link awoke with a start. He had a splitting headache. Every bump in the road just renewed his pain. Thinking back a little to what could have caused it, the Hero of Time started to remember snippets of the recent past. His memories of the last few hours slowly returned to him, each eliciting a groan. Even worse, Navi had been around the whole time, and she was sure to lecture him as soon as she saw him. With a sigh, he pushed the cork out of the bottle. Better get this over with. The focus of his intense fear stared down at him. She was much shorter than he remembered, and the Hero's Tunic looked way too big for her.

"Look, Navi, I... uh, I'm sorry," he said at last, his head drooping slightly. "I know I've not always been serious, but this time..." Link trailed off. Navi blinked a few times.

"Oh, forget it. It wasn't your fault anyway," she brushed him off. "That doesn't matter right now. You're back to normal, so it's fine. Hey, Link, can you still remember that song from earlier? I don't want to hang around in this time; no-one takes me seriously as a kid."

"I can remember it. At least, I think so. It's the Song of Storms, right? What's the plan once we arrive?" he asked.

Navi looked back at the merchant. He seemed content to manage his horses for a while. "We sneak into the windmill, then you play your ocarina, and then we can get into the well and get the sheikah artefact. Sound good?"

Link nodded. "That's fine with me. Just don't get caught."

* * *

The plan proceeded excellently right up until Navi tried to enter the windmill unseen. A familiar, but much younger, man greeted them as soon as she opened the door.

"Why hello there!" the windmill man exclaimed. "It's not often we get visitors! Ooh, are you here for a tour, perhaps?! FANTASTIC!" he screamed. "It's a pleasure having you! I'll put on the kettle as well! Just for you, little girl, I'll get you some biscuits!"

"Listen, sir, that's not really -"

"NONSENSE! All children love biscuits! Don't worry, my house isn't far! Ahahahaha!"

"...He ran off, Navi. Wait a second, this is our chance." Realisation dawned over Link's face. He pulled out the Ocarina of Time. Within moments storm clouds had gathered overhead. Lightning flashed once, illuminating the inside of the windmill. The central pillar sped up as the winds outside reached tornado speeds. Link continued playing, picking up the tempo as fast as he dared.

The whole building shook under the continual buffeting from the tempest outside. A loud bang sounded at the door, and the windmill man tumbled in from outside. In his hands was a small tin, but that too was dented and soaking wet from its time outside.

"It's a good thing you were inside, friend. There's a storm brewing out there!" he said, panting slightly, until he heard the music filling the room. "What are you doing? No! THIS CAN'T BE! You're cursing the village! Get out of my windmill!" The man raised his voice to impossible levels. Link lowered his instrument, and the wind quieted down a little. Navi took the chance to flee, dodging a clumsy grab and darting through the open door. It was only hanging on one hinge.

The rain outside stopped after a few moments more, but the windmill blades were still spinning quite fast. From the looks of things, the well was empty. The Hylian dropped the bucket to the bottom, and jumped in. The rope slowed her descent, but the landing was still quite jarring. Nonetheless, Navi and Link had made it to the bottom of the well.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi! I'm back from the dead! To all old readers, I offer you this sacrifice, and to the new, welcome! As always, reviewing is something I'd love you for (even if it's just yelling at me for being late). Props to therichardater for following... that's been a long time coming, hasn't it?**

 **Why are second and second the same word? I can't use them both without things sounding weird, dammit.**

 **So I wrote half of this a month ago, and the whole thing turned around pretty suddenly, right? I didn't really see it coming either until today. Well, I just skipped the thing that gave me a problem, after all.**

 **Zelda and her minions are not my intellectual property. Just sayin'.**

* * *

There was a narrow passageway at the bottom of the well. Streams of rainwater trickled down the sloping path ahead, leading on into the darkness. The little light available from above did little to illuminate the situation, and Link's glow only reflected dull rocks on all sides. The walls slowly closed in on Navi as she progressed down the tunnel, careful not to slip. She had one hand on the wall, the other on the Kokiri Sword, but eventually had to sheath it again.

After a few minutes of increasingly cramped space, the passage opened up. The child stood up, brushing off her knees as she did so, and started looking around. Bones lay heaped up on the floor, all old and brittle; they crunched underfoot like a layer of snow. Against the far brick wall leant a full skeleton. Whatever clothes it once wore, there were only a few scraps lying about here and there. Half-made whispers echoed from around the body.

Navi reached for her blade. Link had fought Stalfos in the Forest Temple, and it didn't look like this one had a weapon. The Hylian warrior took a deep breath, her eyes focused on her foe. It didn't move.

A huge skull appeared an inch away from the girl's face. She stumbled backwards, swinging her sword at it, but it just swung from side to side, not in the least bit fazed.

"Get away, get away, _get away!_ " she shrieked in time with her slashes. Link darted up to her face.

"Navi, calm down! It's a Skulltula! You won't be able to attack it from the front," the fairy warned. "I said, stop slashing it! It won't let it's guard down otherwise!"

Reluctantly, Navi stopped her assault. After a few moments, the spider-like monster pivoted on its string, in time for a vertical slash all the way down its body. It twitched twice, then stopped moving entirely. Navi carefully poked it with her sword to move it to the side as she walked past. The skeleton still hadn't moved, so it was probably safe to examine. It was still whispering, some final memento of its death.

"Hey, what's it saying?" the Hero of Time asked his companion. "You can understand Old Hylian, can't you?"

She listened for a little longer. "He's telling us about some kind of eye... the Eye of Truth, maybe? Miru... look? Yes, that seems to be it. 'Look for the Eye of Truth'. That's what we were here for anyway," Navi said. "He's only repeating the same words. There's nothing to be learnt from this guy."

"Okay, but how do we move on?" Link asked. "We're at a dead end. Maybe you can bomb the wall?"

The Hylian rummaged about for her bomb bag. It was full, thanks to the supply run she'd done in the future, so it was only a matter of pulling one of the explosives out and lighting it. Two flints had been tied to the bag for convenience.

The wall shimmered slightly from the explosion. It seemed totally unaffected by the blast: no cracks appeared, no holes punched through, no chips flew in random directions.

* * *

Through the phantom wall the air was slightly humid. Large faces carved into the walls spilled water into wide channels all around the area. The waterways snaked around each other, crossing occasionally. They all seemed to be draining further down the hall, but Navi stopped following the current when she caught up to Link. He bobbed a little as he stared at some kind of relief. In large letters spelled 'DANGER' in Old Hylian, with some more writing underneath, much smaller. It was worn away in patches.

"It's a warning, Link." Navi stated. "I can't read most of it from here, though."

The fairy grinned. "You'll have to teach me how to read this sometime. It's written everywhere."

He moved aside as Navi prepared to jump across; after all, she didn't want to wet her boots any more than was necessary. The Water Temple had been _more_ than enough of that. She hopped over. The cobbled floor met her feet, then shimmered as they passed it. The girl let out a slight cry before her momentum brought her into close contact with the wall ahead. Her shield clashed horribly against the rock, knocking her top half back. A second passed in spinning free fall. Navi crashed to the floor a moment after that.

Link had, of course, chased after her. Unable to do much else, he noted with some relief she'd not hurt herself too badly. A pile of bones had cushioned her fall slightly. There'd definitely be bruising, and that _was_ the side his shadow had cut her, but nothing looked broken or too out of place.

Navi hissed as she stood, levering herself up with her sword. Her other hand was holding her side, as if stoppering up any blood or pain. She swayed slightly, and leant against the wall as she took out a red potion. Link watched from a jagged bone, a few feet away, but said nothing.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the Hylian waiting for her breathing to slow and wounds to patch up, if only slightly, and the fairy keeping an eye on her. The cavern they had landed in was a far cry from the meticulously-built system above: rough stone and moss formed uneven walls, and even a few budding bomb flowers were seeping through cracks. Grey bones of all types littered the floor, shattered in most cases. Few were collected into full skeletons; most were strewn randomly like leaves under a tree.


End file.
